Method and apparatus for drilling into water covered ground



Oct. 15, 1940. M, B. WILLEY 2,217,379v

I METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRILLING INTO WATER COVERED GROUND FiledJan. 16, 1940 4 2 Sheets-Shem 1 I I7 I 4\ v I .7 V V I 25 I I v 6 I 7 g k. l 5 M I Fig.1

lnven+or= Marneg Ben Willey 59 his Arforneg;

0a. 15, 1940, MB. WILLEY 7, 7

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRILLING m'rowmsa COVERED en ouuv Filed Jan. 16, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Patented Oct. 15, 1940 v, vuNlllflD f STAT Es PATENT; OFF-ICE -,2,217,s79 v METHODAPPARATUS FORLDRILLING v WATER COVERED GROUND I q liken Willey, Iowa, La., assig'norjtov Shell Development Company, San FranciscmOaliL, acorporation of Delaware x I f Application January 16, 1940, Serial No. 314,068

' 401811118. (crass-1) v U Other objects and advantages of the present The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for drilling wells into ground sub- 1 merged under waterbodiesgsuch as into forma 'tions beneath-f lakes, coastal swamps, marshes,

etc., and" pertains more particularly to improve- "ments in the construction and use of submersible I drilling barges. V 1 s It is known, to mount I drilling equipment, such as drawworks, vderrick, pump, etc., oiilbarges, which m'ay I be floated? to the "desired "location.

For example; Gili'asso' (in U. S. Patent-1,681,533) proposes the use bfsuch a ybargewhichc m y .be firmly grounded at the, desired location byfo pen ing sea valves to thejjballast tanks {andsinlring 'the barge hull to thebottom. flliesuperstructure on" .the barge hull'carries the derrick and drilling equipment. I These barges are formed'witha bay or open slot in one side to permitthe passage or the drill or casing string thereth'roughx 'o that when the ballast tanks are emptied and the hull raised, thebarge may be floated away from the Well head to another location. p p

The normal-barge hulls are are l2- feetflin height andhave a draft of 5 -I'to 6:feet. In.

feet deep are dug to allow the movement :of the' barges from one location to another.

However, when the water levelvaries to depths, greater than about 12 feet, such as'in' some coastal swamps and lakes, the normal.

barges must be replaced by special barges of drillingoperationsandwhich allows the hull to be fioatedaway from the standingnpipe afterthe completion of the well, The hull l itself is preferably about 6 to 1201' more ,feet in height, 10-,

greater draft and height. In addition to the considerable expense in constructing these special drilling barges, the latter have the drawback of being suitable only for drilling in deep water due to'their greater draft, deeper channels being required to move these 1 special barges to new locationsover shallow marshes or swamps. Costly, drilling equipment 40 thus becomes tied up and'remainsidle unless extensive drilling is being carried out at many' and'ineans, described below, for venting air there- 'from and pumping air .there'into. The water inlet points accessible to the special-drilling barges.

It is, therefore, an object of the presentinvention to provide a method for drilling-wells in. ground submerged under any desired reasonable head of water by means. of an apparatus compri's ing a-separate floatable hull'or auxiliary'barge which may be sunk to form aj'found'ation in deep water for a submersible drillingg-barge whereby the use of specialfdrilling barges ofdeep draftf designed for operation at specific predetermined wherein: v V Y FigureI is ,a schematic plan view of a subshallow marshes and swamps, canals about 6 /2 I j necessary. Referring to Figures I and II of the drawings, 4

:a preferred form of, a submersible foundation hull or barge, generally designated as l,-is formed with an open drilling bay 2 through which the drill invention will be apparent from the following description taken-in reference to the drawings,

mersible foundation hull, showing guiding piles in position. A Figure II is a schematic verticalsectional; view offa foundation hull, taken alongtheline II -.-II of Figure-I. v f Figure III is a schematic vertical sectional view of'a floating foundation hull, showing guiding piles in position; I

of a foundation hull which has been submerged to the bottom aboutthefguiding piles. Y

Figurev isle. schematic vertical sectional view I of a submerged foundation hull with a drilling; barge floated into position thereaboveand about the, guiding piles.

Figure VI isa schematic vertical sectional view .of a' submerged foundation hull onto which. has. .2 been landed a submersible drillingbarge. q Figure is a schematic vertical view of' an operation wherein two foundation hulls. -are ing and casing strings are lowered during the Figure IV is a schematic vertical'sectional view several water-tight compartments or, I ballast tanks, such as for example, compartments 5, '6, l and 8. Each compartment is equippedwith a waterinlet valve ID, a water discharge tube ll,

valve 10 is preferably of the balanced type, as shown :in Figure II, and arranged tocontrol an opening l2) in the lower'portion of the compartment. Serving 'tooperate the valve [0, an'elonupwards through a, vertical tube 15 attached of the compartment. The upper portion of. the

valve stemjl3 is threaded and passes through a gated valvestem 13, having a hand-wheel 14 at its upper end, is attached thereto and extends about and above an opening IS in the upper wall I opening is fitted .with suitable nipple or coupling connections. The tube I! thus serves as an air venting means or means for pumping air into the compartment for displacement of water therefrom as well as a protective casing and support for the valve stem IS. The water discharge tube ll extends from within the lower portion of the compartment up through an opening 24 in the upper wall thereof to a point above the deck of the hull. The upper portion of the discharge tube ll may be provided with a downwardlydirected spout 20 for discharging the water from the compartment away from the hull. The vertical tubes l l and i5 and the valve stem l3 are extended upward to a distance such that when the hull is submerged the outlets 20 and I9 and the hand wheel it are above the high water level; for example, the outlets and hand wheel may be 8 to 12 feet or more above the deck of the hull l.

10 For greater manipulative flexibility, the tubes ll and I5 and the valve stem 13 may beconstructed 86 depending on the"depth of the water at the well with couplings, 22 and 23, respectively, whereby the length of the'tjubes and of the stems may be varied by connectlngthereto additional sections,

location. a V

The tubes i l and I5 for each compartment are preferably arranged adjacent each other and all the vertical'tubes are preferably situated so as to extend upwards from along the sides of the deck of the hull. I

In order to permit the bay of the drilling barge to align itself with the bay of the foundation hull as it is submerged and landed on the SI foundation hull, suitable guiding means may be provided on the deck ofthe foundation hull to direct the drilling barge bottom into proper relationship with the deck of the foundation hull. In a preferred structure several triangular guides 40 II are attached to'the deck of the foundation hull and are preferably arranged along each side of the deck of the hull and spaced adjacent the tubes H and ii on their side adjacent the bay 2 of the hull l.. However, other arrangements of the triangular guides 25 on the hull deck, such as spacing them along ,the edge of thebay 2 or along the edgesati each end of the hull or combinations thereof, as well as othertypes of guides, such as tapered sockets'and pins on the bottom of the drilling barge and the deck of the hull, maybesuitably used. a

In another desirable arrangement each come partment is fitted with a steam ejector having discharge and steam pipes extending above the deck. This arrangement fordischarging water' suction hose, whereby water may be withdrawn from the compartments by attaching the other end of the hose to a suction puinp on the drilling barge.

The method of drilling wells-by means of the present foundation or auxiliary barge in combination with aregular submersible barge provided with drilling equipment, is as follows: the foundation hull of the present invention with its water inlet valve l0 closed and compartments 5, 6, I, and 8 substantially free of water is floated into position over the desired well location. Guide pilings 30 are placed in an upright position closely adjacent the walls of the hull within the bay 2 thereof and are driven into the ground below the buy I of the hull, as shown in Figures I and III. With these pilings serving as guides during sinking. the hull is submerged to the position illustrated in Figure IV by opening the valves II by means of valve stem i3 and hand wheel I attached thereto, which allowsthe water to pass through the opening i2, through the open valve i0, into each of the compartments 5, 6, I and 8, permitting the air to escape therefrom through the tube l5 and opening ll.

A drilling barge 9 of suitable type having a bay 60, watertight compartments, water inlet valves, valve controls Bl, derrick 62, drilling equipment, etc., is then floated into position above the submerged foundation hull and with its bay 60 about'the guide piling 10, as shown in Figure V. ,The drilling barge hull I9 is landed,

the foundation hull. The drilling barge is guided and centered onto the foundation hull by means such as the triangular guides and the guiding piles 30,'so that the drilling barge is properly supported with its weight distributed over the frame structural members of the foundation hull and so that the bay of the barge is properly aligned with the bay 2 in the foundation hull. The drilling barge and foundation hull may be then linked or fastened together to prevent relative shifting due to tides,.waves, machinery vibration, etc. The upright tubes II and I! are protected from damage by the drilling barge hull by the triangular guides 25 or by auxiliary protective means.

When the well is completed and it is desirous to move the apparatus to a new location, the drilling barge is raised, as usual, by pumping air into its watertight compartments or by ejecting the water with steam ejeotors, or .by means of a pump, and made'ready to float to a new location. The foundation hull is then raised by attaching airpressure lines, such as from an air pump on the drilling barge by means of flexible hoses, to the coupling connection I! on the upper end of the tube II or by connecting flexible steam hoses to the ejectors, or by attaching flexible suction hoses from the pumps on the drilling barge to the spouts lll. With the water inlet valve I. closed, and by any of the above means, water is removed from the hull through the water discharge tube ii and spout 2!, until -the hull comes to the surface. After being thus brought to the surface, the'foundatlon hull may be towed to a new location. 7

When the depth of the water in the desired well location is greater than the combined height -of one foundation hull and the drilling barge,

two or more foundation hulls may be submerged one above the other, as shown in Figure VII.

I claim as my invention:

1. The process of drilling wells in ground submerged under water bodies, comprising the steps of sinking a foundation hull to the bottom of said water body, sinking a barge provided with ,drillingequipment onto the top of said foundation hull, that portion of the barge carrying the drilling equipmentremaining above water level,

operating the drilling equipment to drill the well, separately floating the barge and the foundation hull to the surface, and removing said barge and hull to a new location.

2. The process of drilling wells inground' submerged under water bodies, comprising' the steps of sinking a foundation hull to the bottom of foundation hulls to the surface, and removing said barge and said hulls to a new location.

3. In a system for submarine drilling, the combination comprising a submergible hull having a is submerged, valve means for submerging said hulls by admitting water thereinto, a bay in each of said hulls permitting a drill string to pass therethrough, centering means to guide said second hull in such manner with regard to the first hull that said bays are substantially in register when said second hull is submerged on top of, said first hull, and valve and conduit means for i floating said hulls by forcing compressed air thereinto.

4. In a system for submarine drilling, the combination comprising a submergible hull having a substantially flat bottom adapted to rest on a submerged solid surface, said hull having a substantially fiat deck adapted to serve as a foundation for a second submergible hull, a second submergible hull having abottom adapted to rest on the deck of the first hull, said second hull having a deck and drilling means supported on said deck above the water level when said hull is submerged, valve means for submerging said hulls by admitting water thereinto, a bay in each of said hulls permitting a drill string to pass therethrough', centering'means to guide said second hull in such manner with regard to the first hull that said bays are substantially in register when said second hull is submerged on top of said first hull, valve means for floating said hulls by forcing compressed air thereinto, and adjustable length valve control members and conduit means cooperating with said valves and extending from said first hull to the surface for operating said valves when said hull is in submerged position. H MARNEY BEN WILLEY. 

